Animal Diaries Archive

Happy 175th Birthday, Harriet!

18 November 2005

This week marked a very special occasion and like every year, a huge celebration! On Tuesday the 15th of November our Giant Galapagos Land Tortoise, Harriet, turned 175 years old!

Harriet is definitely a favourite here at Australia Zoo and those lucky enough to meet her soon see why. So as you can imagine, when the oldest animal on earth has a birthday party, it is huge! The party kicked off at 10am as crowds of people surrounded Harriet's decorated enclosure to hear a talk on her amazing history as she ate her special birthday breakfast.

Next we sang 'Happy birthday' as she was given her favourite gift of all... a huge bunch of hibiscus flowers.

As Harriet happily munched away we cut her 30kg tortoise-shaped cake and divided it among her party guests. It was easy to see that she was having a great time and lapping up all the attention, but it wasn't long before she was ready for a nap. Just like any elderly lady, she was tired - after all the photos, TV cameras and interviews it's not surprising.

So as Harriet makes history every year on her birthday, her keepers treasure each moment with her and look forward to many more years with this amazing old girl.